Posted on Jun 19, 2021
GAO: Navy Struggling to Retain Surface Warfare Officers; SWOs Want More Training, Specialization...
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Surface warfare officers are leaving the Navy at a higher rate than other unrestricted line officers despite reforms in training the service has instituted since two fatal collisions in 2017, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
Compared to aviators, submariners and the special warfare/explosives ordnance disposal community, “SWOs had shorter average careers and higher separation rates compared with officers in similar U.S. Navy communities, despite the U.S. Navy’s investments in SWO training,” reads the report, which was released near the fourth anniversary of the collision of USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) and the merchant ship ACX Crystal that killed seven sailors.
After ten years of service, 33 percent of SWOs stay in the community versus 45 percent of other unrestricted line officers – officers eligible to command ships, aircraft squadrons and SEAL teams. The GAO also found 12 percent of female SWOs remain in their community, compared to 39 percent of male SWOs.
Compared to aviators, submariners and the special warfare/explosives ordnance disposal community, “SWOs had shorter average careers and higher separation rates compared with officers in similar U.S. Navy communities, despite the U.S. Navy’s investments in SWO training,” reads the report, which was released near the fourth anniversary of the collision of USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) and the merchant ship ACX Crystal that killed seven sailors.
After ten years of service, 33 percent of SWOs stay in the community versus 45 percent of other unrestricted line officers – officers eligible to command ships, aircraft squadrons and SEAL teams. The GAO also found 12 percent of female SWOs remain in their community, compared to 39 percent of male SWOs.
GAO: Navy Struggling to Retain Surface Warfare Officers; SWOs Want More Training, Specialization...
Posted from news.usni.org
111x: Surface Warfare Officer
Surface Warfare Officer (SWO)
Posted >1 y ago
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I'm not surprised. The community is brutal in term of promotion, command opportunity, and upward options. One fitrep that is not a breakout at the Dept. head (around 6-10years) level is enough to put command at sea essentially out of reach. This is particularly hard when you have multiple stellar officer is in one command in a forced ranking system. Add to that a decades long shift of focus away from seamanship and warfighting in favor of the latest political football and it makes for a tough sell. I stuck it out and don't regret it even though the breaks didn't always go my way. Now, 12 years after retirement, I still follow the community closely and I don't know if I would be as persistent in the current environment. Long deployments don't deter the kinds of seafaring officers we want. Lack of upward mobility and respect does.
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I remember in 2003 when SWODOC was ended by an Admiral based on his nephew's recommendation after his first few months onboard his new ship. When I used to go onboard the ships when I was at ATG it seemed almost criminal how the Navy would take an officer out of college or OCS and stick them in front of a division that had more training than they did. At least with SWOSDOC an officer showed up understanding the basics and admin associated with being a SWO. Now they were thrown to the wolves. That was a decade of not understanding what made the officer a professional warrior and competent leader. They got rid of SWOS, celestial navigation, DC plates and started to go away from physical navigation charts. Hmmmm now we're bring it all back. We used to say the worst thing for the Navy was a new idea FITREP bullet. Many of these so called innovative ideas hurt more than they helped.
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